


Love is blood red

by silverbreeze2211



Category: Naruto
Genre: Domestic, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Light Angst, M/M, Mild Blood, but he cares, sasuke being sasuke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:35:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26034286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silverbreeze2211/pseuds/silverbreeze2211
Summary: Naruto hates to admit it, but living with Sasuke is terrible.Terrible, but not in the way one would expect. For starters, Sasuke is probably the neatest person Naruto has ever met (and Naruto has met a lot of people). Everything is boxed and placed in straight lines, not a single piece of dirty laundry is ever on the ground. In fact, Sasuke probably has all his socks intact, when Naruto can barely find one sock without a hole much less a matching pair.--Or Naruto and Sasuke's attempt at domesticity after the war.
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 5
Kudos: 148





	Love is blood red

Naruto hates to admit it, but living with Sasuke is terrible. 

Terrible, but not in the way one would expect. For starters, Sasuke is probably the neatest person Naruto has ever met (and Naruto has met a lot of people). Everything is boxed and placed in straight lines, not a single piece of dirty laundry is ever on the ground. In fact, Sasuke probably has all his socks intact, when Naruto can barely find one sock without a hole much less a matching pair. 

Second, the bastard knows personal boundaries. Knows them a little too well, actually. Of course, Naruto wouldn’t know jack shit about personal boundaries even if it came up and slapped him, but still. 

So what’s the problem, you may ask? Well--

He feels empty.

Empty, but unlike the loneliness he felt before. Sasuke is here, here in Konoha, here in their apartment, and yet--- 

Yet...

It doesn’t really matter, Naruto supposes. Because he’s happy. He’s happy Sasuke is back, and happy to see Sasuke alive and healthy and -- it’s just an empty sort of happiness. They don’t really talk, and well, of course, Naruto hates that. Sasuke’s upset and broody over many things, but more than anything Naruto hates that he can’t do anything to change that. 

\--

Naruto leaves a warm bowl of fresh miso soup on the dining table.

It’s cold by the time Sasuke leaves his room.

\--

Grocery shopping is awful. Was it always this tedious? Naruto can’t seem to understand the difference between fresh ripe tomatoes and slightly less ripe tomatoes, because honestly, they all seem equally vibrant in color. He forces himself to search through all the tomatoes though if only to see a pleased expression on Sasuke’s face for once. 

He checks out quickly and smiles at all the passerbyes who wave and point at him. It’s nice, and he feels more confident when he returns back home.

“I’m back.” He announces to no one in particular because even though Naruto knows Sasuke is home, he might as well be air.

“Hn.”

Naruto almost drops the tomatoes. There sits Sasuke, his hair wet from a shower with an almost curious gaze fixated on the red fruits. He’s wearing well dark blue of course, and a pair of black pants that look awfully familiar. 

“Are you wearing my pants?” He carefully places the tomatoes on the table. Sasuke’s eyes follow his movements.

“No.” comes the clipped reply.

Naruto’s not taken back in the slightest- this is progress, “Oh, okay well I’m thinking of just roasting some tomatoes? For lunch. Does that sound okay? We might also have some bread...hey do you know where the bread is?” he turns around, but Sasuke is already gone.

And so are the tomatoes.

\--

When Naruto comes out of his room in the middle of the night because he can’t sleep, there’s one ripe tomato left on the table.

\--

Here’s the thing: Naruto refuses to believe what his friends say about Sasuke. No matter how hard they try to convince him that Sasuke gives absolutely zero fucks about Naruto, he just shakes his head and denies. Because that’s not true. 

It’s not. He knows. Sasuke knows.

His friends would give each other a look (that Naruto can read because he’s not an idiot), and Naruto would have to change the topic and converse unhappily for the rest of the time.

But how could they know what happened at the Valley of the End?  
\--

There were bloodstains on the tiled floors. 

Naruto stumbled in, cursing because he couldn’t believe how terrible this peace treaty went. It was dark in the apartment, and he blindly reached around for the lights or the countertop or really just anything he can grab at this point. 

He knocks over a bowl--okay three--from somewhere, and several resounding crashes makes him wince. Sasuke was probably asleep, and with this noise, well he’s definitely awake now.

Naruto tries to be quiet--really, he does-- and manages to not knock anything else over until he reaches his bedroom. He feels dizzy, in a way he hasn’t felt in a long time. What was Kurama doing? It feels like he’s going to die.

Groaning quietly, he shifts himself into a sitting position and leans against the frame of his bed. His legs are splayed in front of him, and he picks at the dried blood at the edge of his cloak. It’s gross, really. He’s not even sure if it’s his blood.

From the corner of his eye, a sudden glimmer makes Naruto sharply turn his head toward the door (he’s still tense from the mission), but he relaxes upon seeing that it’s Sasuke with a kunai. 

“What are you doing?” Naruto asks, hoping he doesn’t look as stupid as he thinks. 

Sasuke lowers the kunai, “I saw blood on the floors.”

Naruto rolls his eyes, “Thank you, genius. That tends to happen when you are bleeding.”

There’s a pause, “Well, you can go back to bed. It’s just me, not some intruder.”

Moonlight shines brightly against Sasuke’s face, and there’s something about it that makes Sasuke look young. Not quite the power-hungry, revenge filled Sasuke with harshly drawn contours and heavy eyes, but a smoothed and softened Sasuke. Naruto feels--

(He wants to touch Sasuke.)

\-- his wounds finally begin to heal when Sasuke moves closer, moonlight leaving his face and he’s once again out of reach. He shoves something into Naruto’s hand, and Naruto blinks when he realizes it’s a roll of gauze.

“Oh..thanks. I don’t need it though. Kurama will heal me in a bit.” 

“Tch.” He watches in confusion as Sasuke sits next to him on the floor and begins to take off Naruto’s cloak. 

Naruto swats at Sasuke’s hand, “Oi, Bastard. Hands off.”

Of course, Sasuke being Sasuke ignores him. And Naruto--he’s confused but slightly pleased that Sasuke is at least here, next to Naruto when he could be in the other room asleep and pretending Naruto is none of his business (even though Naruto is none of his business. Sort of.) He moves silently, his hands are surprisingly gentle, and Naruto has to admit that it’s awfully relaxing. He feels himself beginning drifting off--

“Fuck!” The cloak was off, and Sasuke had decided to take off his blood-soaked black shirt underneath. And it wasn’t that he was being rough, but where Sasuke was trying to remove the shirt Naruto’s skin was burning underneath.

He watches Sasuke reach for his kunai, and although Naruto trusts him wholeheartedly, he feels his heart beat ever so faster. And he suddenly feels more alert, as if he wasn’t falling asleep just moments ago, and he has one hand on his own kunai, and he’s ready for when--

Oh. Sasuke cuts his shirt, and slowly removes the fabric from his stomach. (Wow, doesn’t Naruto feel guilty for overreacting.) There’s a slight pause as the fabric peels off, slick with wet blood before Naruto hears the inevitable--

“Are you an idiot.”

It’s not quite a question, so Naruto doesn’t answer. He knows the source of Sasuke’s comment, there is, after all, a huge gaping hole in his stomach. Well, not a hole exactly (if Kurama fiery chakra was any indication), but also not not a hole. There’s a noise that resembles a sigh, and Sasuke throws a dirty look that has both irritation and something akin to worry hidden in there. 

Naruto grins sheepishly, “Yeah yeah, bastard. I shouldn’t have let my guard down…”

He doesn’t know what’s making him so happy. But it feels as if they are genin again, and Sasuke’s grudgingly patching up Naruto while muttering obscenities under his breath. 

“Do you have alcohol?” Sasuke asks suddenly.

Naruto’s eyes widen, “Are you toasting to my imminent death? Why do you need alcohol?”

Naruto receives a soft punch in the leg, it really shouldn’t hurt, but he hisses in pain anyway.

“For your wound, not me.” He hears the harshness in Sasuke’s voice, “Did you injure your brain too?”

But Naruto can’t focus. He can’t when Sasuke is finally speaking more than three words to him, even if it’s because he is practically dead. It’s strange, he can barely see Sasuke’s face but he knows the exact expression Sasuke’s wearing, knows every curve on his face, knows the weary tone that is sure to come.

“Idiot, I’m not going to ask again.”

Ah, there it is.

Naruto smiles, (soft like the way Sasuke’s hand feels against his leg) “Bathroom sink, second drawer. Maybe..I’m not sure if we have any left.”

There’s shuffling, an annoyed sniff, and he hears Sasuke's quiet padded footsteps echo down the hallway. He closes his eyes; the bathroom door creaks open and he hears Sasuke’s footsteps return. It’s nice, Naruto thinks, really nice to have someone take care of you.  
He feels Sasuke crouch back down next to him, his presence like a storm cloud (and Naruto loves it. Loves the calm before the storm or something like that.) Sasuke uncaps the container, and Naruto nods with silent confirmation, eyes still closed.

It burns, as alcohol does, but Naruto’s been on enough missions to not yell out. The alcohol pierces his flesh, and he can feel it seep into every crevice. (So maybe he does grab at Sasuke’s arm, and maybe he whimpers, but there’s nothing embarrassing about that.)

He barely feels Sasuke wrapping up the wound with gauze, barely hears what Sasuke mumbles to him over his own gasps of pain. 

“--iot, breat--”

After a few moments, Naruto finally cracks open his eyes, which immediately finds Sasuke’s own piercing gaze. Neither speaks. But there’s a silent understanding that pervades the room. 

And then--Naruto reaches for Sasuke’s hand. It’s intimate and not out of spite. There’s hesitation, but Sasuke’s pale slender fingers slowly fold over Naruto’s tan shaking ones.

There is rhythmic pulsing where their sun and moon marks meet, it’s familiar and reassuring.

It’s a bit like love. The quiet kind. Less of a roaring thunderstorm, more of a sun shining on warm morning dew. Cherry blossoms in crisp spring air. Winter snow on top of faraway mountains. Moonlight against water ripples.

Sasuke gets up first because Sasuke always has to be first.

“Get some sleep.” and he leaves the room. The door softly shuts behind him.

Naruto finds that it’s a difficult request.

(When Sasuke comes later to check on him, Naruto pulls Sasuke into bed with him.)

**Author's Note:**

> Old work, old fandom! Finally got an AO3 account after all these years, wowww.


End file.
